Carefully
by Gazlover12-Canada
Summary: Much to his annoyance, Ritsu gets a splinter. Takano takes it out for him. TakanoxRitsu fluff, oneshot!


Ritsu was really starting to believe that the world was out to get him. Seriously, he always seemed to be targeted by the all the annoying things in the world. Like, for instance, the small but painful splinter that was buried deep in his finger at the moment. Maybe it was a little immature to freak out about something as simple as a small slither of wood, but Ritsu believed that he was entitled to be a little upset.

Today had been rough. The printer people had yelled at him and refused to accept his negotiations, which in return caused Takano to yell at him for not persuading them properly. Luckily things turned out okay in the end, but only because Takano had gone to negotiate with them himself. Somehow he'd managed to get through to them, which in return made Ritsu feel useless compared to his boss and former high school love.

To top that off, all of them were tired since they were at the last week of the cycle. It was a rather terrible feeling knowing that he would have to return to work tomorrow and endure the stress all over again. Ah, but it was the final straw for poor Ritsu when he was on his way home. Takano, who had forgiven him for the printer fiasco, was being particularly pushy about their 'love' tonight. When they arrived home, rather than being in an enclosed space with his boss, the young editor decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator up to his apartment floor.

Well that plan was spoiled, because Takano just followed him up the stairs. Out of frustration, Ritsu had gripped the wooden railing rather tightly as he speed walked up them. It was stupid really, because halfway up there was a sharp pain in his right pointer finger. Thus, he was gifted with a small piece of wood burrowed under his soft tender skin.

"This is all your fault!" He hissed at Takano as he fumbled for his keyes. All he wanted to do was forget about everything that had happened today and sleep.

Takano didn't seem to agree. "My fault? Don't go blaming your clumsiness on me."

If it were another time, like maybe in the morning after a full night's rest, Ritsu would have attempted to argue further and not back down. Instead he just sighed, finally managing to unlock his door. He was about to go inside but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hold on a second. You should probably take that out before it gets infected."

"Yeah, sure, I will." Ritsu mumbled. And he would. Tomorrow morning, when he could actually think straight.

The hand still didn't leave his shoulder. Takano remembered the time Ritsu had gotten a friction burn when he fell down the theirs outside the library a few months back. He hadn't had any antiseptic or bandages. "Do you have tweezers? A needle?"

"Um…" Ritsu hesitated. Did he have those things? Probably not. After all, he still hadn't even gotten around to getting a first aid kit yet.

Takano sighed. "Come with me," He said, grabbing his subordinate by the wrist and tugging him towards his own department. Ritsu didn't even realize what was happening until he was already being dragged inside.

"Wait Takano-san, I can do it myself!"

"Hey, you're the one who said this was my fault. Don't go complaining when I'm trying to correct my wrongdoings," Takano told him, a little sarcastically. Ritsu wondered how he was even awake enough to use sarcasm. He lightly shoved Ritsu towards the couch. "Stay there."

Ritsu grumbled to himself but complied. It only took a few seconds for Takano to come down, a first aid kit in his hands. He set it down and took out a few items before grabbing Ritsu's splinter-fied hand and pulling him towards him.

"Hey, stop!" Ritsu protested as he was pulled halfway onto Takano's lap. The older male had one arm curled around Ritsu's waist, while the other one still held onto Ritsu's hand.

"Shut up and keep still. I need to see what I'm doing."

He held Ritsu's hand towards the lamp, which was on the other side of him. Then, he took a disinfectant wipe and first cleaned Ritsu's finger, before then reaching over for a needle and cleaning that too. Ritsu couldn't help but stiffen.

"D-Do you really have to use a needle?" He asked, stuttering slightly.

"Of course. And if this doesn't work then I'll get my cooking knife so we can amputate," Takano told him, smiling slightly in amusement. Ritsu glared at him, but it went unnoticed because the other male was rather focused on the job at hand.

When Takano brought the needle closer to his finger, Ritsu instinctively tried to pull his hand away. With his needle-free hand, Takano squeezed the younger male into a sort of half hug of comfort, rubbing his back reassuringly. "Relax. I promise it won't hurt that bad."

Still pretty skeptical, the green eyed editor shut his eyes tightly and awaited the dreaded needle stabbing. This would probably be worse than going to the doctors to get shots! The seconds seemed to tick by very slowly as he waited for the pain. But then, much to his surprise, he felt lips brush against his finger.

"All gone," Takano said in a tone of satisfaction. Ritsu peeked his eyes open and saw that in Takano's hand was his splinter. He couldn't help but widen his eyes in astonishment.

"Wow Takano-san, I didn't even feel you take it out! How did you do that?"

"It's all about being careful," Was the reply that his boss gave him as he put his first aid supplies away and pulled out a small band-aid, wrapping it around the place where the splinter had previously been. Then, the arm that had been wrapped around Ritsi moved away, and Takano rested his hand against the younger man's cheek.

When Takano's lips met his, Ritsu jolted a little, but he didn't move away. He blamed it on his exhaustion more than anything else. It didn't last long, and when Takano moved away, Ritsu tried to ignore the disappointment he felt.

"Ritsu...spend the night with me?"

He said it so gently, but also in a tone that could almost be considered mild desperation. Ritsu was about to say no, but then he realized that he actually wanted to spend the night with his former love. Besides, he owed him for taking out the splinter so carefully! Yes, that was the true reason! It wasn't because he actually genuinely just wanted to spend the night with Takano's warm strong arms wrapped around him or anything crazy like that…

"...S-Sure", He agreed, face red with blush. He couldn't help but feel a flood of warmth pool into his belly at the sight of Takano's eyes lighting up as if he had just received an amazing gift or something. Needless to say, it was a very good night after that. All of the day's stress evaporated instantly when Takano's hand closed around Ritsu's own as he pulled him towards the bedroom.

**FIN**

**Review if you'd like me to make some more Takano/Ritsu stories! :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this one! Sorry it's been awhile since my last Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi story. I've been struggling in school since I'm not the smartest fish in the shoal. Thankfully finals are soon and math and chemistry will be done with, so I'll have plenty of writing time! So thanks to everyone who has been bearing with me!**


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